W7 – 7th International Workshop on Decentralized Technologies and Applications for IoT (D’IoT) 2026

Co-organizer: Ali Hassan Sodhro, Kristianstad University, Sweden
Co-organizer: Sandeep Pirbhulal, Norsk Regnesentral/Norwegian Computing Center, Norway
Co-organizer: Muhammad Muzammal, Northumbria University, United Kingdom

Abstract: The D’IoT workshop 2026 will focus on advances in decentralized technologies, e.g., trustless systems, distributed ledgers, and their applications within the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data systems. The workshop encourages submissions in both foundational decentralized technologies and innovative IoT-driven application domains. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: theories and applications of Big Data Analytics for IoT, decentralized applications for healthcare informatics, privacy-preserving visualization techniques for IoT data, security and privacy in IoT using trustless and decentralized mechanisms, next-generation decentralized solutions for IoT systems, decentralized IoT applications in smart cities, decentralized approaches for fog and edge-enabled IoT, and forward-looking visions on trustless decentralized IoT architectures, among others. The workshop welcomes inter-disciplinary and cross-domain studies spanning a variety of areas in computer science including enriched IoT data management over blockchain, mobile computing, information extraction and retrieval, distributed systems, cybersecurity, and related fields.

Program: D’IoT 2026 Agenda

Co-organizer’s Bios:

Ali Hassan Sodhro:

Dr. Sodhro is currently working as a Senior Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden, and affiliated researcher at University West, Sweden.

He worked as a Lecturer at Department of Computer and System Science (DSV), Mid-Sweden University, Östersund from Jan 2021 to Sept.2021. Before that, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden since June 2020 to Dec 2020, and visiting Lecturer in Applied Information Technology Department, Cognition and Communication division, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden since Oct. 2020 to Jan 2021. Dr. Sodhro also worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Computer and Information Science Department, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden from Aug.2018 to May 2020. Before that, Dr. Sodhro worked as the Postdoctoral Researcher at DISP LAB University Lumiere Lyon2, Lyon, France under Erasmus Mundu’s SMARTLINK Project from Aug.2017 to July 2017.

He obtained his PhD in Computer Applications Technology from Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT, CAS), Shenzhen, China, and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing China in May 2016. He received both M.E in Communication Systems and Networks, and B.E in Telecommunication from one of the leading Engineering University of named, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro Sindh Pakistan in 2011 and 2008, respectively.

He has authored more than 100 publications in prestigious journals and top conferences including IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics (TII), IEEE IoT-J, IEEE Wireless Communications
Magazine, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation System (T-ITS), IEEE Sensors Journal, IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, IEEE Access, Information Fusion-Elsevier, FGCS-Elsevier,
NCAA-Springer, IET Communications, International Journal of Communication Systems-Wiley, IEEE ICC, and IEEE VTC, including others. Besides, he published 6 book chapters with well-known publishers, such as Springer, Elsevier, and CRC Press.

He is serving as an Associate Editor of prestigious journals such as, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (T-ITS), IET Communications, IET Electronics Letters, Telecommunications System Journal-Springer and so on. He is conducting research in emerging domains such as AI/ML for Edge/Cloud Computing, Smart and Healthcare, Internet of Things (IoT)/ Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), Physical Layer Security in 5G applications, Multimedia Transmission in Healthcare Applications, Green, Sustainable, and Reliable Healthcare Systems, Body Sensor Networks, and Wireless Sensor Networks, Energy Harvesting for Healthcare Systems.

Since its inception, he is the Organizing Chair of the Workshop on Decentralized Technologies and Applications for IoT (D’IoT) in conjunction with the IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC).
Dr. Sodhro is recipient of several research awards including Obada Prize as a Young Distinguished Researcher 2022, CAS PIFI as a visiting scientist (2020-2023), Third Best Paper Award with Cash Prize & Certificate at Guangzhou Annual Report Competition at Guangzhou, China, 2015, and Best Graduate Award 2016. He has more than 15 years of research and teaching experience.

Sandeep Pirbhulal:

Dr. Sandeep Pirbhulal received his Ph.D. degree in Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
(SIAT-UCAS), China (2014-2018). He has also received a PhD degree equivalence from the University of Beira Interior (UBI), Covilha, Portugal, in October 2020. In addition, he did his Master’s Degree in Telecommunication and Networks (2012-2014), and Bachelor’s Degree in Telecommunication Engineering (2007-2011) from Karachi Institutes of Economics and Technology (KIET), and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Pakistan, respectively. He is currently working as a senior research scientist at Norwegian Computing Center, Norway. Moreover, he served as a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, KIET, Pakistan, from 2013 to 2014. He was also a research scholar at SIAT-UCAS China (2018-2019), and UBI Portugal (2019-2020), NTNU
Norway (2020-2021).

Dr. Pirbhulal has vast experience of 9-10 years in Academia & Research. His current research focuses on critical infrastructure security, tele-healthcare, network security, information security, privacy, and security for WSNs, wireless body sensor networks (WSNs), and Internet of Things. He has published more than 85 scientific articles (including peer-reviewed journals and international
conferences) with 2002 citations on Google scholar, an H-index of 25, and an i-index of 41 comprising IEEE Transactions, Elsevier’s JCR Q1 other high impact factor venues. He has reviewed more than 100 papers in the reputed peer-reviewed journal such as IEEE Access, IEEE JBHI, IEEE transactions etc. He is an editorial board member of MDPI Signals Journal (since 2020). Since, three years (2019-2021), he is the Organizing Chair of the Workshop on Decentralized Technologies and Applications for IoT (D’IoT) in conjunction with the IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC). He also serves as a TPC member of several conferences, seminars, and workshops at the national and international levels. Global Research Recognition: Dr. Sandeep Pirbhulal has achieved an outstanding achievement globally by featuring in Stanford University’s Top 2% Global Scientists List 2020 and 2021 due to my noteworthy research contributions in IoT, informatics, data privacy, cybersecurity, communication, and networks.

Muhammad Muzammal:

Dr. Muhammad Muzammal is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of Computer Science, Northumbria University, United Kingdom. Before, he was an AI consultant with the Ministry of
Education, UAE and a faculty member at Bahria University, Pakistan. He was also a Visiting Fellow under CAS President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI) at the Centre of Big Mobile
Intelligence, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenzhen. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Leicester in 2012, and M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees from FAST-NU and IIU, in 2007 and 2005, respectively. His research interests are in large scale data mining, including algorithm design and mobility data mining. Recently, he is interested in decentralized systems and mining with a focus on AI-enabled security in IoT applications.

Paper submission deadline Extended: 8 February 2026
Acceptance notification: 18 March 2026
Final paper submission deadline Extended: 7 April 2026

Submission requirements: 5-page paper (without overlength charge) and up to 2 additional pages are allowed with the purchase of additional page charges in the amount of $100 USD per additional page at the time of registration and final paper submission.

Paper submission can be located here: https://vtc2026s-rr-wks.trackchair.com/